How to Use be the death of in a Sentence

be the death of

idiom
  • This cheap season won’t be the death of the national past time.
    Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 15 June 2020
  • These squabbles can sometimes be the death of the weaker sibling.
    Discover Magazine, 17 Apr. 2015
  • Gawain is an instant celebrity in the kingdom, and a year later, Gawain heads off on a quest that could be the death of him.
    Brian Truitt, Detroit Free Press, 30 July 2021
  • No one knows yet whether the commission’s decision will be the death of the city’s Broadway project.
    Greg Jefferson, San Antonio Express-News, 28 Jan. 2022
  • This could be the death of a relationship, job, friendship.
    Cheyenne M. Davis, refinery29.com, 17 May 2022
  • Housing markets across the United States are on fire; skyrocketing values may be the death of the 20% down payment.
    David Rae, Forbes, 16 June 2021
  • The fundamental theme of my essay was that identity politics could be the death of art.
    Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 16 Oct. 2020
  • Many predicted that the onset of the global pandemic would prove to be the death of a few minor competitions in the soccer world, but so far the soccer world seems to be plowing ahead.
    Jon Marthaler, Star Tribune, 2 Oct. 2020
  • Instead, in the U.S. at least, much of our memory consists of observing it helplessly from the sidelines while hoping that a delusional hawk with access to the button wouldn’t be the death of us all.
    Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2022
  • Far from home, Hatzin is often dwarfed by, and stranded in, these vistas, emphasizing his aloneness in an environment that might be where his father died, and might yet be the death of him.
    Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 Sep. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'be the death of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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